Being Clean

Isaiah saw a vision. He saw the Lord, sitting on a throne. I'm sure it was a great experience.  However, when he found himself in the presence of the Lord, he was troubled because he felt unclean, or at least he felt he had unclean lips.

"...Wo is unto me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips; and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts." (2 Nephi 16:5)

But the Lord is merciful and forgiving to those whoe repent. Isaiah probably wasn't guilty of too much sin.  He was the prophet, after all. God wouldn't have called him to be the prophet if he wasn't already righteous. But the point was how he felt.  He felt as if he had unclean lips.

"Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar;

And he laid it upon my mouth, and said: Lo, this has touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." (2 Nephi 16:6-7)

He was cleansed of his sin. Heat is an interesting metaphor for how we are cleansed from sin. Heat burns away impurities and kills germs and stuff like that.  However, it is a painful thing too. I think heat is used to show a couple of parts of the repentance process. The first thing is that it is painful.  It isn't easy to admit that you've done wrong, or to confess your sins or make restitution. All of that can be painful. However, when we come out of the other side of the repentance process, we are cleansed.  We are more pure than before, maybe even more pure than we have ever been.  Heat affects change too. It changes solid to to liquid. It changes liquid to gas. It causes chemical reactions. It is a great catalyst in the chemistry world.  This is true as part of this metaphor as well. Repentance affects change in us. It purifies us, and it changes our desires. It orients us closer to God's will.  This is what Isaiah experienced:

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said: Here am I; send me." (2 Nephi 16:8)

What this demonstrates is that once we have been cleansed from sin, we answer the Lord's call to action.  One way to ensure that we are ready to answer the Lord's call of "Whom shall I send?" Is to repent and be cleansed of our sins, regardless of how painful it really is.